There are a number of location-based online services available on the Internet or World-Wide Web. For example, the Yahoo! Maps service provides maps and driving directions, as well as online photos, which are typically aerial photos supplied by Yahoo! Another example includes the Google Maps service, which provides similar functions. Most of these services require the user to select a particular location or locations, allowing the user to download map, satellite images, or other information about the location. For instance, the user may enter text into an interface for a particular city or street address and obtain back information as to, for instance, local restaurants, hotels, etc. on one's computer or computing device.
In addition to providing map and direction information, some of these location-based services also provide images or photographs associated with a location or business, such as a “Street View.” When a user enters a location into these location-based services, random photographs submitted by different users and/or “street-level” photographs may be retrieved. These photographs have little interest value, however, and may not be particularly useful for photographers and tourists interested in finding areas with the best scenic views. “Street-level” photographs are usually taken by cameras attached on moving vehicles driving on a road capturing multiple sequential photographs of the surrounding road and streets. As a result, these photographs are more logistical and not necessarily useful in elegantly depicting areas of interest for a user who would like to find picturesque locations.
There are currently no systems that allow users to find areas of interest based on interesting photographs. As a tourist or a photographer, one intends on finding and taking memorable pictures from one's travels. One often spends a substantial amount of time and energy doing research to find good photographic locations when planning a trip. Location is a critical aspect of photography and although there are known services that provide photos associated with various locations on a map, the quality of the photos returned as part of a location-based search is not necessarily controlled by filters, such as tangible-popularity-gauging filters. Therefore, there is a need for a system that provides locations on map of the most interesting photographs.